


one step forward, one step back

by pastisregret



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, ifykyk, that implied tension is eyes emoji, they hate each other but yk....
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24433546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastisregret/pseuds/pastisregret
Summary: marinette sprains her ankle. chloé helps her home. (ft. both of them utterly irritated by each other)
Relationships: Chloé Bourgeois/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 20
Kudos: 207





	one step forward, one step back

“You know, you don’t have to carry me like this. I’m fine on my own.”

Scoffing, Chloé adjusted the way her hands held onto Marinette’s thighs, hiking her up higher on her back. “Yeah right. You and what ankle, Dupain-Cheng?”

“I just fell hard on it,” Marinette excuses, even while she grimaced at the new spark of pain. “I doubt it’s that bad.”

“Don’t bullshit me. I heard the sound when you tripped down the stairs and trust me, it’s _way_ worse than you’re letting on. Acting like everything’s fine will just get you nowhere, especially when you can’t even stand on both feet.”

With a sigh, Marinette stays silent for a moment, unable to argue back. Chloé _was_ right after all, and as much as she hated to admit it, it’d be stupid to act like she was better off without any help with her ankle crying out in pain at the slightest movement and her home only a short walk from the school – even if it meant that help was in the form of Chloé.

Still, Marinette had her doubts and reservations.

“Aren’t you worried someone’s going to spot you helping me out?” she asks, glancing around even as she spoke. While school had ended a few hours ago and most of their classmates had already left the area, there was still the off chance that someone might see and spread the word, way before Chloé and Marinette had the opportunity to mutually pretend the whole event never occurred and call it a day.

“Please,” Chloé brushes off, beginning to cross the street, “if anyone should be worried here, it’s _you_ , Dupain-Cheng. Who’s to say I don’t throw you off my back and let you limp the rest of the way home right now? Or better yet, left you lying on the courtyard floor until someone found you back at school? Because if you don’t think I’ve already thought about it, I have.”

“You know what,” Marinette mutters under her breath, “maybe limping home was the better option after all.”

Half tempted to turn her head back and give her a glare, Chloé huffs instead. “Don’t tell me you think I’m actually being serious. It’s a _joke_ , Marinette. I’m _joking_. Learn to laugh a little, will you?”

“You really think I’m in the right headspace to figure out what’s a joke and what’s not right now?” Marinette retorts, narrowing her eyes at the back of Chloé’s head. “The only thing I’m focusing on right now is the ice pack in the freezer that’s soon to be on my ankle.”

Smirking, Chloé lifted a shoulder up, the closest form to a nudge she could give Marinette. “I thought you said your ankle wasn’t that bad,” she asks, smug as ever.

“And I thought you’d manage to take me home without trying to annoy me.”

“When did I ever promise that?”

“You didn’t,” she answers, feeling Chloé’s steps come to a stop and her parent’s bakery entrance come to view. “But it’s nice to hope for a little change, you know.”

“I’ll try to remember that for the next time I’m carrying you home.”

“Aw. You’re already planning to make this a regular thing?” Marinette asks, voice rising to a nearly insufferable tone. “How _cute_.”

In the window’s reflection, she watches with glee at how Chloé face changes, flustered and shocked and maybe just the _tiniest_ bit going red.

“When did I _ever_ say that?” she manages to say back, a feat after nearly a minute spent sputtering out nonsense and drawing worried looks from the patrons inside the bakery.

Laughing, Marinette manages to let one of her hands come up and teasingly pat at Chloé’s face, more than ready to throw her own words back at her. “You didn’t. But don’t tell me you think I’m actually being serious. It’s a _joke_ , Chloé. I’m _joking_.”

“Think of some better jokes next time, Dupain-Cheng.”

“You’re still thinking about next time? That’s adorable, just _adorable_.”

“You have thirty seconds to get off my back and inside the bakery before I toss you off me, Marinette, and that’s _with_ considering your ankle.”

“And you’re just so _worried_ over my ankle, I honestly might just _swoon_ here and – Okay! I get it Chloé, I’m stopping!”

-

The next day, there’s plenty of questions around school, all concerning Marinette and the now infamous incident. How’s her ankle feeling? Was the fall really that bad? How come _she_ gets to be excused from homework for the next week while on bedrest? How did she manage to get home? And most importantly, _who_ helped her home?

The last one’s maybe the most elusive of them all, no trails to point them in the right direction and Marinette seemingly unwilling to share the answer. And while it’s maybe the most tantalizingly bit of gossip Chloé ever had her hands on, it’s even more gratifying to keep the answer to herself.

Until next time, of course.


End file.
